A bogus lawyer who forged his degree – and possibly a court order confirming his admission as a High Court advocate – is causing havoc in Free State courts, says a report in The Times. Mosebetsi Mofokeng was struck off the Pretoria Bar’s roll of advocates a year ago. Now judges at the Free State High Court (Bloemfontein) have ordered new trials for at least five alleged criminals he was representing.

They said four alleged stock thieves and an alleged robber/rapist, whose trials began in Regional Courts in 2014, had their constitutional rights infringed because their lawyer was ‘never properly qualified to represent anyone, let alone accused persons in criminal matters’.

The stock theft trial has already heard from 13 witnesses but the High Court said it must restart under a new presiding officer. A similar order was made for the robbery and rape trial.

The Pretoria Bar said a certified copy of Mofokeng’s LLB degree from the University of Johannesburg was in a font the university had never used and bore falsified signatures. University records showed he did not complete a number of subjects, the Bar said.

Full report in The Times (subscription needed)